Yeah, I'm not wholly satisfied with this one. Seemed like an interesting idea that I just couldn't hammer out. You are correct on the two latter statements. As for how they were created, it seems like the kind of thing a diety could do on a whim, no? That's how I pictured it.

In any case, feel free to vote freely, I just had to get this out of my in-work box. Go to Comment

Good work, Cheka. A few very nice examples. Though, I have to wonder about #4 as it is written. I don't think you should hold back on submitting just because an idea might not be a perfect 5., I happen to prefer reading 3s or 4s, but can agree that a mass of 2s is a bad idea. If you post something and it flops big time, take a look at it, see why, and readjust/reevaluate your writing and content.

Interesting focus point for a campaign: a pair of glasses. Not the mighty sword of superness or chalice of divinity, but a humble set of spectacles with some intense powers.

What happens when one wearing them closes their eyes? As written, it suggests everything except the back of your eyelids would cease to exist to you... This could pose some problems. Who knows where you would end up each time you blink? How can we be sure you would be returned to the same world each time you open your eyes? The world must exist, to some part, in memory. And how can you know YOU exist, if you aren't looking at yourself?

This is a great starting point for a philosophical rant, but lacks the rant part which I think would be most fascinating and fun.

Very interesting follow-up post. I can totally understand the struggles of pushing out an adventure and the want to just be done with it, but I still have to agree with Scras that it falls a little short of the original. I guess it feels a little too hopeless at times (such as the snakes) and too ... Can't think of a word for it, but the problem being that it relies of NPCs surviving, and ones that don't have a very good chance of it at that, to complete the adventure. All of the information to be gained is presented in NPC-reliant format, with Godfrey's visions, then the wizard's knowledge that they won't pass on. I wouldn't want to be a player in this adventure, as I would feel lacking compared to the NPCs.

Giant Blood - Like Dwarf Blood, the Blood of a massive, thick, and muscular humanoid makes for an excellent addition to any ward or protective spell. It is also known to be useful in size alteration Magic, specifically making things bigger.

Unicorn Blood - Ah, yes. The sacred Unicorn whose Blood is as legendary as the beast itself. To use the Blood of such a pure being you would have to be wholly and completely corrupted and evil, or you soon will be, at the very least.

The Blood of such a noble and majestic creature, be it Unicorn or something else, typically weaves a dark undercurrent into the Magic is is used with. The spells effects can be increased seven-fold, but nothing without a dire cost to your physical ,spiritual, and mental health. The darkness will linger in all the magic you use, a boon, yes, but anyone viewing one of your spells will likely notice you for the foul creature you really are. It is not hard to see such blatant vileness and lust for quick power.

If the blood of a Unicorn is given freely, a tremendously rare event, I imagine these downfalls would be waved, but one can not be sure. Lust for power is, after all, a corrupter itself.

Aberrant Blood - What is an Aberrant? A creature so horrendously horrid that it rots your very mind to ponder its unnatural existance. Likewise, Aberrant Blood is useful in the magic of trickery and illusions that befuddle the mind and leave it weak and supple. Easier to be molded as desired. Very bad stuff, indeed.

Plant Blood - Yes, it is sap that I speak of. Or other fluids found in plants, being a mixture of water and natural, positive (unless somehow corrupted) creation. These "Bloods" can be used to empower healing Magics and those of the wilderness and nature, such as plant growth or preservation.

"No, no no,. You've got that first part all wrong. You are completely false with your so-called three main blood types. I present to you, an alternative thought."

A Different Take on the Three Main Types of Blood

Blood Given Freely -

The willing sacrifice of the blood of a sentient being, from the sentient being, is a very powerful act. It is wholly and infallibly of benefit to anyone's spellcasting.and should be done much more often.

The only possible downside I could see would be that the Personality of the Blood (more on that later). is more likely to be seen. I often ask my student for a drop of blood to demonstrate casting a spell upon them, and I have never failed to cast a spell upon one of my students. No, no, nothing harmful of course. I'm just saying, simple, removable hexes perform better when you have a willfully given piece of the person. Freely given Blood aids both the caster and the received by making the Magic more personal and likely to "latch onto" or synthesize with the recipient.

Blood Taken by Force -

When you take the Blood of a sentient being BY FORCE, this is evil. Through and through evil. The Blood will fight against you and the spells you cast, it will make it very difficult to target the unwilling donor with a direct spell. Though, I suppose in indirect blast of fire may be empowered, that is not the point. It is EVIL.

Blood of the Deceased -

To take the Blood of a dead man is trivial, he does not need it, and neither do you. I say willing Blood or no Blood is the way to go. The Blood of a dead man will only get you a minor benefit with a grieving loved one you wish to charm. Which is little benefit at all, I think.

Personalities of Blood - A so-far untouched subject

Arrogant Blood - Making use of the Blood of an Arrogant donor will make your spells more persistent and ferocious, they claw and claw at their victims until they are let in. Arrogant Blood has a much higher success rate with harmful or invasive spells.

Deceptive Blood - Do not be fooled. Deceptive Blood comes in many forms and you may never know you used it. It is a traitor, only given to you by an enemy. It will alert the donor that you are casting a spell upon them, and they may even be able to figure out what one! Use severe caution around the Blood of a Deceptive person.

Friendly Blood - Ah, yes. The Blood of everyone's friend. Easily adaptable to many people. Very good Blood to have, though a true friend is hard to find.

Cowardly Blood - The Blood of a yellow-belly. It will skirt away from people, making it absolutely useless in mental assaults and even minimally effective in areas of energy. However, if you need tyo get far away from someone, you will want to use a drop of a coward's Blood.

Our Own Blood, Being Consumed by Spell-Fire & A Warning about Bloaters

Earlier this evening, someone posed an interesting query. What of our own Blood? What can I do with the Blood I have readily available within my own body? Well, I'll tell you what, you can do whatever you please with it, it will work as effectively as any blood from another of your race or kind for extraneous Magics.

But a few words of warning. The flow of Bloof from a self-inflicted wound can cause a sort of euphoria in the user over time, as the cuts get deeper and deeper so does your tie to the magic; and, before you know it, you've bled your last drop and you are consumed by spelll-fire. At least, that's what I hypothesize...

...Oh Yes! And watch out for those Bloater types. Blood Casters who stimulate their bodies to over-produce blood, as to have large quanities at hand. You'll know one when you see it... Go to Comment

An excellent submission, I echo the praise of the others. I don't really have any questions after reading this. It seems like any of the pocket realms would be easy enough to devise of your own, but I do look forward to reading more of this setting.

Lovely idea with a decent enough execution. Nothing really jumps out at me as exceptional about this submission, but it is of quality. Healing plants are nothing new, but the mythical scope of the regenerative abilities makes this a nice downfall for an ancient empire, now fallen. Good work.

I like a lot about this submission, particularly that it was such a captivating read. Though I'm not quite sure how I would use it. It feels like it should be a focal point for a campaign, as the BBEG, but there isn't a whole lot to support a long running game (long enough to become strong enough to "defeat" the tree). It feels like you've given us enough for an encounter with the tree, but not enough to really use it.

I also think I am confused on one part: Some sections seem to imply that the tree would only call and accept females of a particular bloodline, while other parts make it sound like an epidemic of dead rising and journeying to the tree. I'm not sure how it could possibly take more than a few days to take in all of the women, or how you could fail to mention a plot hook involving undead rising and going on a pilgrimage, if that was the case.

I like it, but the style in which it is pieced together is confusing and seemingly not conductive to providing accurate information on using the submission.

Wow. Very nice. Looks like a great little side-trek that can be used without much hassle. As Muro said, it is crisp, clean, and fresh in presentation and creativity, but not too strange as to cause complications.

A great way introduce the party to the ways of dragons, without making them a deadly threat, Good work.

I liked this one. It provides a very nice rough sketch of what I need to use the creature. The narrative was capturing, though a little disjointed, as noted, and really gave me just enough detail for my mind to wander around and fill in a picture. I think this is a very good submission, because each reader will walk away from it with a slightly different impression of the events leading up to, and concluding, the feeding process

Yeah, sorry, not my cup of tea. I thought I would be nice and try to read it, even though your warning about its inspirations nearly ran me off. I'm always one for sport, but this is too much for me to handle. I won't vote, since I did not read it all, and as it is lengthy and there was nothing to inspire me to read more, which, if you ask me, captures the style of the first Harry Potter book quite well. But I think a few pointers are in order.

• Capture your audience: That may have been the intent of the dilly names, but it was more of a turn off to me. I did read the first paragraph, but what I got out of it was this - This is a wizard family with lengthy crazy psuedo-Rowling names, we won't use these names since they are lengthy crazy and psuedo-Rowling, but none of these characters would ever allow themselves to be referred to by their incomplete name. Now, that is an exaggeration but you get the idea. Very off-putting if you ask me.

• Presentation is important. Throw in some bold headers so we can find our way back if we happen to wander backwards and reread something. The paragraphs could probably be shorter, too. Trimmed for content and broken up more.

But, like I said, I skipped around a lot and it didn't look horrible, but it's not something I feel like I would enjoy reading. I think role-playing material for a Harry Potter style world has a niche, and can be useful, it's just a very small one from what I've seen. I'm really interested to see how the other Strolenites view this, but I don't expect it to yield high results. Might have better luck with some HP fanfic site.

I hope I wasn't too harsh or rude, and I know I'm being slightly stubborn by not reading the whole thing, but I also hope you can walk away from my comment having gained some insight... or something... about something... or something....

It is what it is, there's a place for this kind of stuff, just not in my world.

I like it, a nice twist on the old Instant Fortress. The mentioned NPC strikes me as a bit odd, I get a mixed reading when I think of him. Is he a battle-hardened mage-soldier or has he never had to camp out on a battlefield? Seems like the kind of guy whose reputation isn't all it's cracked up to be. The shield itself though, certainly a fine and useful item with a decent back story.